Freedom High (BVAL) coach Kevin Hartwig preaches to his players to focus on the following motto:

“Are we going to be 1-0 or 0-1 this week?”

It’s obviously the 11-year Falcons coach’s attempt at keeping his players focused on one game at a time. Even though 90 percent of the players on the team could probably tell you who they play on Oct. 12. 

That will be the night Freedom travels to Pittsburg. And if things have gone according to plan, that’s the night the Falcons will want to be 1-0. And even though Hartwig and his team won’t say it, for political and superstitious reasons, it’s the year they SHOULD be 1-0 on such a night.

With 12 returning starters, and the most experienced and talented offense to ever suit up in the Freedom maroon and navy, the Falcons’ window for a Bay Valley Athletic League championship has never been open wider. Hartwig’s two most successful teams of the past (2008 and 2011) finished second and tied for first, respectively. The outright title has always eluded the program.

With Pittsburg putting new faces in at many of its skill positions, and uncertainty surrounding Deer Valley-Antioch and Heritage-Brentwood, the Falcons’ time is now. “This is a great opportunity for us to take advantage of,” Hartwig admitted.

Returning eight starters on the offensive side of the ball, including one of the most heavily-recruited player the young program has ever had, is a good place to start.

At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, Darrell Daniels stands out amongst the Falcons. And that’s before he gets the football in space. The wide receiver had 792 yards from scrimmage a year ago with nine touchdowns, and there’s no reason to think those numbers won’t go up for the four-star talent who committed to Washington over the summer.

“We’ve got to get him the ball,” Hartwig said. “We’ll work on finding every possible way to make sure he touches the ball. But what’s also nice, is we’ve got other guys who can step up if defense are determined to key on Darrell.”

One of those guys is three-year starting quarterback Dante Mayes, a threat with both his arms and his legs. They also return junior running back Joe Mixon, who rushed for more than 1,100 yards and had 13 touchdowns as a sophomore.

“I feel like all the pieces are falling into place,” Mayes said. “We’re excited and ready. We know there are a lot of expectations, but we’ve done a good job of blocking that out and just worrying about week by week results.”

The defense returns four starters and a fifth player who saw time on the field. Daniels will play a big role on that side of the ball, too, as a roving strong safety. 

“We’re still gelling,” Daniels said of the defense. “We know that defense wins championships, so we’re definitely working hard to get it into shape.”

And when Mayes was asked for his overall key to the season? “Win each week. That’s it.”

WE CALL IT

Our predicted league champions for every NCS 11-man FB league.

BAY VALLEY: Freedom; With eight returning starters on offense and one of the nation’s top WR recruits, the time is now. 

DIABLO FOOTHILL: Campolindo; Presence of All-State QB Brett Stephens should help avoid any hangover from Cinderella season of 2011.

DIABLO VALLEY: Concord; Minutemen return 15 starters after finishing as Div. II runners-up a year ago. Oh, and they have Olito Thompson.

EAST BAY: Foothill-Pleasanton; Before you all riot, De La Salle is considered an independent this year. And the Falcons should make the most of it.

HUMBOLDT-DEL NOTRE BIG 5: Eureka; The Loggers should make the most of an experienced offense and physical defense.

HUMBOLDT-DEL NOTRE LITTLE 4: Ferndale; The Wildcats graduated just four seniors from their 11-win squad that finished as Div. IV runners-up a year ago.

MARIN COUNTY: Marin Catholic-Kentfield; Plenty of talent returns at skill positions, most importantly behind center with QB Jared Goff.

MISSION VALLEY: Newark Memorial-Newark; Cougars can take advantage of a league up for grabs after James Logan-Union City exited as an independent.

NORTH BAY: Casa Grande-Petaluma; Gauchos and Windsor are both new to the NBL, making things very competitive. Casa’s balance, experience provide edge. 

NORTH CENTRAL I: St. Helena; With QB Ryan Hoppe back and seven returning starters on defense, things are all lined up for the Saints.

NORTH CENTRAL II/BAY FOOT: Tomales; Competition level will be a step-up for the Braves in this new combo league, but they won’t shy away.

SONOMA COUNTY: Healdsburg; A new SCL era begins without Casa Grande and Windsor leaving. The Greyhounds will try to make the most of it.

TRI-COUNTY ROCK: Salesian-Richmond; While we think El Cerrito could certainly be in the mix, it’s hard to argue against a 21-game winning streak.

TRI-COUNTY STONE: Kennedy-Richmond; The Eagles have the best player in the league in Takkarist McKinley, that just might be enough to fend of Hercules.

DIVISION GLANCES

DIVISION I

TOP TEAMS TO WATCH (2011 record): De La Salle-Concord (13-1), James Logan-Union City (10-1), San Ramon Valley-Danville (10-4), Freedom-Oakley (10-2), Pittsburg (10-4). 

EARLY OFFENSIVE MVP: Warren Miles Long, RB, James Logan

EARLY DEFENSIVE MVP: Michael Hutchings, LB, De La Salle

SURPRISE CONTENDER: Foothill-Pleasanton 

BREAKDOWN:

De La Salle is coming off a third straight CIF Open Division State Championship bowl victory, and is currently on one of the most impressive defensive runs it’s ever had. In the three Open bowl victories “” against presumably SoCal’s top team regardless of enrollment “” the Spartans have allowed a total of 22 points. And many have predicted the 2012 defense to be on par with those teams, or better. So who joins DLS in the final? James Logan is built to reach that plateau, and should enter the playoffs more battle tested thanks to a much tougher schedule than ever before. San Ramon Valley has some early buzz thanks to a strong returning defense, and Freedom is getting similar praise for its offense. But are any of these teams legit contenders to knock off the 20-time defending NCS champs? Unlikely. 

CHAMPIONSHIP PREDICTION: De La Salle over James Logan

DIVISION II

TOP TEAMS TO WATCH (2011 record): Concord (10-4), Rancho Cotate-Rohnert Park (9-4), Casa Grande-Petaluma (8-4), Windsor (14-0), Las Lomas-Walnut Creek (9-3). 

EARLY OFFENSIVE MVP: Olito Thompson, RB, Concord

EARLY DEFENSIVE MVP: Elijah Qualls, DL, Casa Grande

SURPRISE CONTENDER: Clayton Valley-Concord 

BREAKDOWN:

The game isn’t played on paper. If it were, it’d be awful hard to pick against Concord at this point. The NCS Div. II runners-up from a year ago has 15 returning starters, including a tailback (Olito Thompson) with a chance to hold nearly all of the NorCal rushing records by the end of the season. If Concord stays relatively healthy, they should be playing football in December.

Could they be facing a Redwood Empire team for the third straight year? Defending champion Windsor graduated 25 seniors and is starting play in a new league under a new coach. Casa Grande and Rancho Cotate seem more likely to make deep runs due to more returning experience.

Las Lomas returns seven starters on both sides of the ball and should be very phsyical in the trenches. Plus, keep an eye on Clayton Valley under new coach Tim Murphy and 12 returnees.     

CHAMPIONSHIP PREDICTION: Concord over Casa Grande

DIVISION III

TOP TEAMS TO WATCH (2011 record): Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa (11-1-1), Campolindo-Moraga (14-1), Encinal-Alameda (11-2), Marin Catholic-Kentfield (13-1), Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland (9-3)

EARLY OFFENSIVE MVP: Jared Goff, QB, Marin Catholic

EARLY DEFENSIVE MVP: Phil Wright, LB, Cardinal Newman

SURPRISE CONTENDER: Tennyson-Hayward

BREAKDOWN:

Marin Catholic, who is expected to petition up from Div. IV once again, was seconds away from going to a state bowl game before Campolindo sophomore Christian Antezana kicked an NCS championship-winning field goal as time expired. Now Cal-bound QB Jared Goff and the rest of the powerful returning offense will attempt to remedy that outcome. Cardinal Newman, also expected to move up, was ousted by Campolindo in the semfinals a year ago. The Cardinals should feature a much stronger defense in 2012. And what about Campo? It returns starting All-State QB Brett Stephens, as well as WR Mason Windatt. However, it will need to replace key players at RB and on defense. Bishop O’Dowd has a lot of skill positions returning and should definitely factor into these playoffs. And, while they don’t have quite as much buzz heading into the season this year, Encinal has built too strong a track record to be ignored.

CHAMPIONSHIP PREDICTION: Marin Catholic d. Cardinal Newman

DIVISION IV

TOP TEAMS TO WATCH (2011 record): Salesian-Richmond (13-0), Ferndale (11-2), St. Helena (11-1), Healdsburg (8-4)

EARLY OFFENSIVE MVP: Richard Hoppe, QB, St. Helena

EARLY DEFENSIVE MVP: Takkarist McKinley, DL, Kennedy-Richmond

SURPRISE CONTENDER: St. Mary’s-Berkeley

BREAKDOWN:

Salesian doesn’t have the star power that it’s had in the past, but that doesn’t mean the two-time defending champs and their 21-game winning streak shouldn’t be feared.

Building behind skill players Michael Page and Travis Earby, the Pride should be right in the middle of things come playoff time. However, the team worth watching may be St. Helena.

The Saints have a dynamic player in returning QB Richard Hoppe who can hurt a defense with both his arms and his legs.

St. Helena also returns seven starters on defense after going 11-1 a year ago. Perennial stalwart and Div. IV runner-up Ferndale had very little graduation turnovers and will be effective once again.

St. Mary’s returns the key components to its strong passing game a year ago, as well, including Cal-bound WR Caleb Coleman. 

CHAMPIONSHIP PREDICTION: Salesian over St. Helena

DIVISION V

TOP TEAMS TO WATCH (2011 record): Hoopa Valley-Hoopa (9-3), Tomales (9-3-1), California School for the Deaf-Fremont (8-4), St. Bernard-Eureka (7-4).

EARLY OFFENSIVE MVP: Wyatt Standley, WR, St. Bernard

EARLY DEFENSIVE MVP: Justin Brady, LB, Tomales 

SURPRISE CONTENDER: South Fork

BREAKDOWN:

Two-time defending champion Hoopa Valley took a fairly significant hit in graduation after last season. And with just six returning starters, it may be chasing a few other programs from the get-go.

Fellow Humboldt Del Notre League-Little 4 opponents, St. Bernard and South Fork, could be in for big years after returning 17 and 19 starters, respectively.

Tomales, a perennial contender, went through a few growing pains a year ago but still reached the final.

Expect the Braves to be back in the hunt once again behind a defense featuring six returning starters.  

CHAMPIONSHIP PREDICTION: Tomales over St. Bernard

PERFECT SEASON

Our pick for the best NCS-related game on each week of the regular season schedule. 

8/24   Buhach Colony-Atwater at San Ramon Valley-Danville, 7:30 pm

8/31   De La Salle-Concord vs. Bellarmine Prep-San Jose, 7:15 p.m.

9/7     Marin Catholic-Kentfield at Vacaville, 7:30 pm

9/14   Berkeley at Pittsburg, 7 pm 

9/21   San Leandro at Deer Valley-Antioch, 7 pm

9/28   Salesian-Richmond at El Cerrito, 7 pm

10/5   Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland at Encinal-Alameda, 7 pm

10/12  Freedom at Pittsburg, 7 pm

10/19  Clayton Valley-Concord at Concord, 7 pm

10/26  Casa Grande-Petaluma at Windsor, 7:30 pm

11/1    Campolindo at Dublin, 7 p.m.